The Frequency of Cognitive Dysfunction Among Multiple Sclerosis Patients With Mild Physical Disability



Shaygannejad V¹ ; Afshar H² Show Affiliations
Source: Journal of Isfahan Medical School Published:2012

Abstract

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common neurologic diseases and an important cause of disability in young adults. In addition to many neurologic and somatic signs and symptoms, MS has many neuropsychological effects. Cognitive dysfunction is very common in patients with MS and is one of the major factors of disability in these patients. The present study aimed to determine the frequency of cognitive dysfunction in MS patients with mild physical disability. Methods: This study was performed on 101 patients with mild MS (EDSS score < 4) during 3 months. The collected data by short portable mental status questionnaire, Beck depression scale and a demographic questionnaire was analyzed by SPSS. Moreover, no relations were found between cognitive disorders and age and duration of the disease. Findings: The mean age was 32.5 ± 8 years. Overall, 26.7% of the participants were male and 73.3% were female. Based on Beck's scale, depression was found in 49.5% of patients. In addition, 11% of patients showed cognitive disorders. Conclusion: Based on our results, MS and cognitive disorders are more common in females. Although relative frequency of cognitive disorders was 11% in this study, it was reported as 54-65% in other researches. It is important to emphasize that during the progression of somatic and neurologic signs and symptoms, the frequency of cognitive disorders is also increased. Therefore, evaluating patients for cognitive disorders in the early stages of the disease seems necessary.